Dual room air conditioning apparatus



May 12, 1964 w. ABBOTT I 3,132,689

DUAL ROOM AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 2. 1962 FIG.\

} INVENTOR. RoY w. ABBOTT BYw/W HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent f 3,132,639 DUAL ROOM AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Roy W. Abbott, .Iefiersontown, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Jan. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 163,800 3 Claims. c1. 165-57) The present invention relates to air conditioning apparatus and more particularly to such apparatus designed to condition the air within rooms located on opposite sides of a common wall.

In air conditioning, it is sometimes desirable to heat or cool the air within more than one room of a building structure with a single air conditioning unit or heat exchange device. While this has been performed in the past by use of ductwork connecting the heat exchange device with the separate rooms, it is sometimes not economically feasible to install ductwork into the respective rooms, nor in some cases, can the existing ductwork be utilized for directing cold air to the separate rooms of the structure.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioning apparatus adapted for mounting in a common wall between two rooms for conditioning the air within the rooms.

It is also well known in the air conditioning field that the heating or cooling load of two separate rooms located adjacent each other within a house or building may vary greatly depending upon whether the rooms are occupied or not or depending upon their relative location with respect to the sun or wind and for any number of other well-known reasons. For example, at dinner time the cooling load in a kitchen becomes extremely great while the cooling load in a room adjacent thereto might be relatively light. Or, in the late afternoon, a room having a western exposure to the afternoon sun might have a high cooling load while a room adjacent thereto, but not directly exposed to the sun, might be relatively cool. Where a single conditioning unit is utilized to satisfy the heating or cooling requirements of two adjacent rooms it is desirable to be able to easily adjust the capacity of the unit with respect to the cooling or heating requirements of the respective rooms.

Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a heat exchange unit adapted for conditioning the air Within separate rooms located on opposite sides of a common wall and which may be easily adjusted to provide lesser or greater conditioning to the rooms according to their respective conditioning requirements.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchange unit for conditioning the air within a pair of adjacently located rooms which may be easily adjusted to circulate greater or lesser amounts of air from Within the rooms for conditioning purposes.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

In carrying out the objects of the present invention there is provided a case adapted to be mounted through a common wall between two rooms to be conditioned. A blower is mounted within the case on a substantially horizontal axis between a pair of air inlet openings formed in the case and communicating with air in the rooms on opposite sides of the wall. Also mounted within the case is a heat exchange unit through which air is directed by the blower for heat exchange purposes prior to discharging from the case into the rooms on opposite sides thereof. In order to control the flow of air through the case from the respective rooms, there are provided a pair of panel members each disposed substantially parallel to one of 3,132,689 Patented May 12., 1964 the opposite sides of the case and having an area at least coextensive with the area of the inlet and outlet openings on the respective sides of the case. The panel members are adjustably supported for lateral movement with respect to the sides of the case to increase or decrease the space between the panel members and the sides of the case and thereby control the amount of air flowing from the respective rooms through the inlet and outlet openings of the case.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view looking at the heat exchange unit from one of the conditioned rooms and illustrating the manner in which the case and conditioning components are hidden from view;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of the heat exchange unit showing the panel members disposed in position to permit equal conditioning of the air within the respective rooms on opposite sides of the common Wall;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional View similar to that of FIGURE 2 in which the panels are arranged so that air enters the unit from the room on the right hand side of the Wall;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to that of FIGURE 2 illustrating the arrangement of the panels to permit air circulation through the unit from the room on the left hand side of the wall; and

FIGURE 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2 there is shown an air conditioning or heat exchange unit of the present invention mounted within a common wall 3 which separates two adjacent rooms. More specifically, the unit comprises a case 2 adapted to be mounted or installed within an aperture formed in the common wall 3 between the adjacent rooms designated respectively by the reference numerals 4 and 5. The case is mounted within the wall 3 so that one side 6 of the case is exposed to the room 4 and the opposite side 7 is exposed to the room 5. As will be seen in FIGURE 2, the case is provided with inlet openings 8 and 9 arranged on the opposite sides 6 and 7 of the case for receiving air from the respective rooms 4 and 5. i

Mounted on a substantially horizontal axis within the case 2 is a blower, generally designated by the reference numeral 11. As will be seen in FIGURE 2, the blower includes an impeller 12 adapted to be rotated by a motor 13 about a substantially horizontal axis. The impeller 12 is open at both ends so that air may enter the central portion thereof from either side. The opposite ends or inlets of the cylindrical impeller 12 align with the air inlet openings 8 and 9 for drawing air into the case 2 through the air inlet openings from the opposite rooms 4 and 5. The motor 13 and the blower 11 are supported within the case by means of mounting arms or a spider 14 attached to the case 2 around the inlet opening 8. This is a well known manner for mounting blowers within a scroll or case and a further description thereof is not deemed necessary for a full understanding of the invention. As may be seen in FIGURE 1, a partial scroll or director member 16 surrounds the lower portion of the blower 11 and diverts the air flowing from the blower, into the upper portions of the case.

Also mounted within the case 2, in the upper portions thereof is a heat exchanger 17 which extends across the outlet of the director member 16 and which is adapted to exchange heat with the air circulated from either or both of the rooms. The heat exchanger 17 may be of any type well known in the art for heating or cooling air flowing thereover. In the illustrated embodiment, the heat exchanger contains a plurality of tubes passing through the heat exchanger through which a cooling or heating medium is circulated. This type of heat exchanger is commonly used in refrigeration systems and is adapted to receive a refrigerant which may absorb or dissipate heat from the air stream passing over the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger 17 may also be connected to a source of hot or cold water for either heating or cooling the air passing thereover. The particular source or type of cooling or heating fluid is not essential for a full understanding of the invention. The heat exchanger 17, as will be seen in FIGURE 1, is adapted to be connected to its source of fluid supply through tubes 15 (only one of which is shown) attaching to the rest of the system by means of couplings 18.

As may be seen in FIGURE 2, air flowing over the heat exchanger 17 enters an air discharge chamber 1? on the downstream side of the heat exchanger 17 Where it may discharge through either or both of the outlet openings 21 and 22 formed respectively in the opposite sides 6 and 7 of the case. More specifically, air discharging from the air outlet opening 21 flows into room 4 and air discharging from the outlet opening 22 flows into room 5.

In order to control or vary the quantity of air circulating through the heat exchange unit from one or both of the rooms 4 and 5 and thereby control the amount of conditioning to the air within the respective rooms, there are provided on opposite sides of the case panel members or air dampers 23 and 24 which are of an area at least coextensive with the area of the inlet and outlet openings in the respective sides 6 and 7 of the case. Preferably, and as illustrated by the panel 24 in FIGURE 1, the panels are of a size that Will completely conceal the case 2 from an observer in either room. The panels are preferably oriented substantially parallel to the sides 6 and 7 and present a pleasing appearance as well as completely concealing the operating components within the case 2 located behind the panel.

Means are provided for adjustably positioning the panel members or air dampers 23 with respect to the sides 6 and 7 of the case for varying the spaces 2t) and 25 formed between the panel members 23 and 24 and the opposite sides of the case. As may be seen in FIGURE 2, these means, in the illustrated embodiment, include a pair of tubular guide members 28 (only one of which is shown in FIGURE 2) which are mounted through the case 2 and supported by the opposite side walls thereof; The tubular guide members 28 are adapted to slidably receive rod members which are in turn attached at their remote ends to the panel members 23 and 24 to support the panel members in juxtaposed position with respect to the opposite sides of the case 2. More specifically, the rod members 29 (only one of which is shown in FIGURE 2) sup port the panel member 23 with respect to the side 6 of the case and tubular rod members 31 support the panel member 24 with respect to the side 7 of the case. Rod members 29 and 31 slide within the tubular guide 28 and may be moved inwardly and outwardly with respect to the sides of the case into an infinite number of positions to constrict the inlet and outlet passages to and from the inlet openings 8 and 9 and outlet openings 21 and 22 according to the desires of the operator.

In the preferred embodiment, as may be seen in FIG- URE 2, rods 29 slide within the tubular rods 31 so that the relative position of rods 29 and the panel 23 maybe adjusted independently of the relative position of the tubular rods 31 and its panel 24. 7 Obviously, both of the panels 23 and 24 could be supported upon a single rod passing through the tubular guide 28 and attaching at its opposite ends to the respective panel members. In such a case, the panel members. 23 and 24 would adjustably move with respect to the sides of the case, but would not be adjustable independently of each other.

As will be seen in FIGURES l and 2, the outer portions of the panel members23 and 24 are turned inwardly toward the wall 3 or the case 2 so that the peripheral edges 26 and 27 of the panel members abut against the case 2.0r Wall 3 when the panel members are moved closely adjacent the respective sides of the unit. More specifically, as will be seen in FIGURE 3, panel member 23 may be moved inwardly toward the side 6 so that the peripheral edge 26 abuts the outer edges of the case and completely closes the air flow into the space 20. This, of course, completely closes off the air flow between the panel 24 and the side 6 of the case thereby preventing air circulation from the room 4 through the case. Thus, when the room 4 requires no conditioning, or when it is desirable to apply the total capacity of the conditioning unit to room S, the panel 23 is moved by the occupant of the house inwardly toward the case 2 to shut off completely the air circulating from the room 4 through the case 2. This, therefore, completely shuts oil the conditioning effect of the heat exchange unit with respect to the room 4 and permits the total capacity of the unit to be utilized for conditioning the air within room 5.

Conversely, whenever it is desirable to completely eliminate the conditioning ellects of the cooling unit with respect to room 5, the panel 24 is moved so that its peripheral edge 27 abuts the side 7 of the case 2 and shuts off air circulation through the case 2 from the room 5. This may be more clearly seen in FIGURE 4. In FIGURE 2, the panels 23 and 24 are both arranged substantially the same distance away from their respective sides of the case 2 so that the spaces 20 and 25 permit substantially equal amounts of air circulation through the case from the respective rooms 4 and 5. This, of course, provides substantially equal amounts of cooling or heating to the air within the respective rooms. 7

One advantage gained by having rod 29 and tubular rod 31 slideable with respect to each other is that both panels 23 and 24 may be moved into the closed position into abutting relation against the sides of the case whenever operation of the unit is not needed. It is also desirable to make the panels of a size at least equal to that of the sides of the case to attenuate noise transmission through the unit, or airflow passages thereof, between the separate rooms.

Improvements in the operation of the conditioning unit can be obtained by preventing the air discharging from the outlet openings 21 and 22 from recirculating through the respective spaces 20 and 25 and re-entering the case through the inlet openings 8 and 9 without passing through the room. As may be seen in FIGURE 2, means in the form of flexible dividers or air barriers 32 and 33 are provided to prevent this recirculation of air from the outlet openings 21 and 22 respectively. These flexible dividers or air barriers 32 and 33 are formed of a flexible plastic material, or any other material impervious to air flow. The flexible dividers 32 and 33 are each attached on one side to their respective panels 23 and 24 and at their opposite sides between the inlet and outlet openings in the respective sides of the case. In the illustrated embodiment the flexible dividers are attached by means of longitudinal strips 34 which are, in turn, screwed to, or in some other manner attached to the sides of the case and to the panel members. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the barriers or dividers are attached at the bottom of the outlet openings 21 and 22 and are of a sulficient length to eltectively prevent air flow around the dividers into the inlet openings of the case. As may be seen in FIGURE 1, divider 33 extends almost to the end of the panel 24 so that any air flowing out of the outlet opening of the case must necessarily pass around the divider 33 and into the room before re-entering the inlet opening of the case.

The dividers 32 and 33' are flexible and, as may be seen in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, extend with the panels, changing their curvature depending upon the relative location of the panels. When the panel is moved into abutting relationship With one of the sides of the case, such as in FIGURE 3 where the panel 23 is moved against side 7 of the case, the flexible barrier prevents the recirculation of air through the space enclosed by the panel so that the panel member does not become excessively heated or cooled by the recirculating air stream. This assures more efiicient operation of the unit in that all of the air circulating through the heat exchanger 1'7 must necessarily flow into at least one of the rooms before it can reenter the unit and must, therefore, to some extent with the room air before being recirculated through the case. Obviously, the air barriers need not be flexible and can be designed to be attached to the panels 2 3 and 24 and collapse or slide inwardly and outwardly as the panels are moved with respect to the sides of the case. A solid air barrier formed of hinged panels or sheet member could be attached to the sides and adapted to told with respect to the side of the case. This arrangement is shown in FIGURE 5 where solid barriers 3! and 37a are attached by hinge means or pins 38 to the respective panels 23 and 24. The barriers 37 and 370 are connected at the adjoining ends by a hinge pin all and attach to the sides 6 and '7 of the case by means of hinge pins 39'. This permits the barriers 37 and 37a to fold or collapse as the panels 23 and 24 are moved toward the case.

While in accordance with the patent statutes there has been shown and described what at present is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention and it is, therefore, the intent of the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An air conditioning unit adapted to condition air within rooms on opposite sides of a common wall comprising a case for installation within an aperture formed in a common wall with opposite sides thereof facing rooms on opposite sides of a wall, a blower mounted in said case on a substantially horizontal axis, air inlet openings on said opposite sides of said case for introducing air from rooms into said blower, a heat exchanger disposed within said case on the downstream side of said blower, air outlet openings on said opposite sides of said case downstream from said heat exchanger for discharging air into rooms after air passes through said heat exchanger, a pair of panel members each disposed substantially parallel to one of said opposite sides of said case and having an area at least coextensive with said inlet and outlet openings therein, adjustable support means extending from said case and secured to said panel members for supporting said panel members in juxtaposed position with respect to said sides of said case, said adjustable supporting means being movable inwardly and outwardly with respect to said sides of said case for laterally adjusting said panel members to decrease or increase the space between said panel members and said respective sides of said case thereby to control the air flowing through said space into and away from said openings in said sides of said case, and collapsible divider members bridging the spaces between said panel members and said case between said inlet and outlet openings therein for preventing recirculation of air between said outlet openings and said inlet openings in said case.

2. An air conditioning unit adapted to condition air within rooms on opposite sides of a common wall com within said case on the downstream side or" said blower, air outlet openings on opposite sides of said case downstream from said heat exchanger for discharging air into rooms after air passes through said heat exchanger, a pair of panel members each disposed substantially parallel to one of said opposite sides of said case and having an area at least coextensive with said inlet and outlet openings therein, adjustable support means extending from said case and secured to said panel members for supporting said panel members in juxtaposed position with respect to said sides of said case, said adjustable supporting means being movable inwardly and outwardly with respect to said sides of said case for laterally adjusting said panel members to decrease or increase the space between said panel members and said respective sides of said case thereby to control the air flowing through said space into and away from said openings in said sides of said case, and flexible divider members attached between said panel members and the opposite sides of said case between said inlet and outlet openings therein for preventing recirculation of air between said outlet openings and said inlet openings in said case, said divider members adapted to collapse into said space between said panel members and said sides of said case as said panel members are moved toward said case thereby to permit movement of said panel members with respect to said sides of said case.

3. An air conditioning unit adapted to condition the air Within rooms on opposite side-s of a common wall comprising a case for installation within an aperture formed in a common wall with opposite sides thereof facing rooms on opposite sides of a wall, a blower mounted in said case in a substantially horizontal axis, air inlet openings on said opposite sides of said case for introducing air from rooms into said blower, a heat exchanger mounted between said sides of said case on the downstream side of said blower, air outlet openings on opposite sides of said case downstream from said heat exchanger for discharging air into rooms after air passes through said heat exchanger, a pair of panel members each disposed substantially parallel to one of said opposite sides of said case and having an area at least coextensive with said inlet and outlet openings therein, the peripheral edges of said panel members being adapted to abut with said sides of said case for preventing air fiow between said sides of said case and said panel member, tubular guide members arranged on a substantially horizontal axis and supported by said opposite sides of said case, supporting rod members extending through said tubular guide members and attached at their end portions to said panel members for adjustably supporting said panel members, said rod members being slida-b-le inwardly and outwardly with respect to said tubular guides for adjusting the relative position of said panel members with respect to said sides of said case thereby to increase or decrease the spaces between said panel members of said respective sides of said case for controlling the quantity of air flowing into and discharging from said openings in said sides of said case, and a pair of flexible dividers each attached at one side to said case between said inlet and outlet openings therein and attached at its opposite side to one of said panel members for preventing the recirculation of air between said outlet openings and said inlet openings of said case.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. AN AIR CONDITIONING UNIT ADAPTED TO CONDITION AIR WITHIN ROOMS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF A COMMON WALL COMPRISING A CASE FOR INSTALLATION WITHIN AN APERTURE FORMED IN A COMMON WALL WITH OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF FACING ROOMS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF A WALL, A BLOWER MOUNTED IN SAID CASE ON A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL AXIS, AIR INLET OPENINGS ON SAID OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID CASE FOR INTRODUCING AIR FROM ROOMS INTO SAID BLOWER, A HEAT EXCHANGER DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CASE ON THE DOWNSTREAM SIDE OF SAID BLOWER, AIR OUTLET OPENINGS ON SAID OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID CASE DOWNSTREAM FROM SAID HEAT EXCHANGER FOR DISCHARGING AIR INTO ROOMS AFTER AIR PASSES THROUGH SAID HEAT EXCHANGER, A PAIR OF PANEL MEMBERS EACH DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO ONE OF SAID OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID CASE AND HAVING AN AREA AT LEAST COEXTENSIVE WITH SAID INLET AND OUTLET OPENINGS THEREIN, ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT MEANS EXTENDING FROM SAID CASE AND SECURED TO SAID PANEL MEMBERS FOR SUPPORTING SAID PANEL MEMBERS IN JUXTAPOSED POSITION WITH RESPECT TO SAID SIDES OF SAID CASE, SAID ADJUSTABLE SUPPORTING MEANS BEING MOVABLE INWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID SIDES OF SAID CASE FOR LATERALLY ADJUSTING SAID PANEL MEMBERS TO DECREASE OR INCREASE THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID PANEL MEMBERS AND SAID RESPECTIVE SIDES OF SAID CASE THEREBY TO CONTROL THE AIR FLOWING THROUGH SAID SPACE INTO AND AWAY FROM SAID OPENINGS IN SAID SIDES OF SAID CASE, AND COLLAPSIBLE DIVIDER MEMBERS BRIDGING THE SPACES BETWEEN SAID PANEL MEMBERS AND SAID CASE BETWEEN SAID INLET AND OUTLET OPENINGS THEREIN FOR PREVENTING RECIRCULATION OF AIR BETWEEN SAID OUTLET OPENINGS AND SAID INLET OPENINGS IN SAID CASE. 